Tag Archives: project

Pyramid Party

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pyramid partyDeep inside this golden pyramid is a lavish tomb complete with jeweled table, companion cat, mysterious hieroglyphics, decadent sarcophagus, and of course, a mummy!

mummyWe read Ten Little Mummies: An Egyptian Counting Book, written by Philip Yates and illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Viking Juvenile, 2003). Ten little mummies, dead bored, decide to emerge from the tomb for a day of play and mischief. As the countdown progresses, each adventurous mummy encounters  something different – heat stoke, adoption by baboons, a chariot race, being unwound on a pyramid slide, vanishing into the night on a hippo, etc. Finally, one sad, lonely little mummy returns to the tomb to discover that – surprise! – the other nine waiting for her, all safe and sound.

You’ll need:

  • 1 corrugated cardboard pyramid base (approximately 7.25″ x 11″)
  • A selection of embossed foil paper
  • 1 rectangle of golden metallic poster board (approximately 9.5″ x 21″)
  • 1 heiroglyphics sheet printed on 8.5″ x 11″ white paper
  • 2 toilet paper tubes
  • 1 rectangle of black construction paper (approximately 2″ x 6″)
  • A selection of eye stickers
  • 3 – 4 strips of white construction paper (approximately 0.75″ x 18″ per strip)
  • 7 – 8 mini pom-poms (mine were 0.5″ in diameter)
  • 1 paper cup (I used a metallic-colored one)
  • 1 small beverage cap
  • A selection of large gemstones (and small ones as well)
  • 1 cat and lid template printed on 8.5″ x 11″ white card stock
  • 1 small wooden spool (mine was 1″ tall)
  • Extra scraps of gold poster board and embossed foil paper
  • Tape, scissors, and glue stick for construction
  • Metallic markers for decorating
  • Hot glue

We begin with a corrugated cardboard pyramid base (I cut mine out of a copy paper box). Glue or tape a sheet of embossed foil paper on one side, right on the middle. This is the floor of your tomb. The foil paper won’t go to all of the edges of the base, but we’ll fix that later!

Next comes the pyramid. I used gold metallic poster board (ordered online from Blick Art Supplies. It’s gold on one side, white on the other). It looked fantastic, but yellow poster board would look good too. Unfortunately, my pyramid template didn’t fit on an 11″ x 17″ piece of paper, so I wasn’t able to make a printable template for you. Here are the dimensions:

pyramid baseOne important thing to note is that the pointy top of the pyramid is NOT part of the 10.75″ and 10″ sides. I left some extra room during the original cut and then cut the pointy top out of the excess. This template is not perfect, but the kids didn’t seem to care if their pyramids were a bit lopsided.

If you don’t want to tackle this pyramid, here is an alternative. Simply cut a triangle out of poster board, then hot glue it to a box “tomb.”  See? This mummy is just as happy in this type of pyramid as the other one…

alternative pyramidWith the pyramid cut, use the hieroglyphics sheet to write messages on the interior walls. The talented Miss Joani did these with metallic markers (the bottom one says “Tiger Tales Rocks”). She also did the drawings for the templates! Awesome.

writingWhen you’re done with your hieroglyphics, fold the pyramid template along the blue lines and tape it the top of the cardboard base. You might have to do a little shaping with the scissors to get it just right.

pyramid foldsReady for the mummy? First, wrap the black construction paper rectangle around the top of the toilet paper tube and affix eye stickers. Run a glue stick down one side of a white construction paper strip and, starting at the bottom of the tube, wrap it around your mummy. When the strip runs out, start another until the mummy is complexly wrapped (but make sure to leave its eyes peeking out).

mummy stepsNow for the sarcophagus. Cut a toilet paper tube in half, lengthwise. Glue a small piece of embossed foil paper on the interior of one of the tube halves (like a metallic mattress for your mummy to rest on). Then flip it over and hot glue 4 mini pom-poms on the bottom for legs.

bottomNext, use metallic markers to color the sarcophagus lid template and hot glue (or tape) it to the top of the remaining tube half. I added some small plastic gems as well. Lay your mummy on the bottom half of the sarcophagus, then gently place the lid on top.

sarcophagusJust a few more touches remain! Cut the paper cup down to 1.5″ then hot glue large gemstones on it. This is your table, to which you can add a beverage lid filled with mini pom-pom fruits.

Color the cat template, then flip it over and hot glue a wooden spool to the back.

cat backAll that’s left now is general decorating fun. Use extra pieces of gold poster board and embossed foil paper to fill the gaps in the floor and add flourishes to the walls. I also had some some gold embossed foil seals handy (purchased from Nashville Wraps).

pyramid partyOne clever story time artist added an eye sticker to the center of the seal and I just had to do the same on mine. Behold the Eye of Horus!

eye

Everyone’s an Engineer

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everyones an engineerGet ready to create, build, and innovate. Today, everyone’s an engineer and the sky’s the limit!

We read Rosie Revere, Engineer written by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts (Harry N. Abrams, 2013). At night, young Rosie Revere designs gadgets, gizmos, and fabulous machines…and then hides them. She’s an engineer, but due to an unfortunate incident with her Uncle Fred (a zookeeper who mistakenly laughs at a cheddar cheese spray hat designed to keep pythons away), she’s keeping her light under a bushel.

However, when Great-Great-Aunt Rose comes to visit and expresses her life-long wish to fly, Rosie puts aside her fears and builds her a flying machine. The machine flies…and then promptly crashes. Rosie gives up. But wait! Great-Great-Aunt Rose has something to say. Failures are part of engineering, but the true failure is if you give up and stop trying. Don’t forget to check the last page for a sweet illustration of Rosie’s ultimate success!

This story time cost zero dollars because I used materials that were already in my art cabinet and storage closet. You could do something similar by sending out a call for recyclables at your library, school, workplace, or neighborhood (more about that here). Another option is to announce the story time theme in advance and invite families to bring recyclables and surplus art supplies from home to contribute.

Here’s a list of the materials I offered:

  • White matte boxes in various shapes and sizes
  • Pastry boxes (you can see the exact ones I used on this project)
  • Tissue boxes, assorted sizes and colors
  • Oatmeal containers
  • Toilet paper tubes
  • Paper towel tubes
  • Wrapping paper tubes
  • Corrugated cardboard bases (leftover from this project)
  • Bulk CD cases (the kind that look like big plastic tubs)
  • Paper plates
  • Plastic cups
  • Paper cups
  • Different lengths of PVC pipe
  • Some cone water cups
  • Pieces of tagboard
  • Assorted beverage caps
  • Film canisters
  • A variety of tea tins
  • Black plastic top hats
  • A selection of sparkle stems
  • A selection of pipe cleaners
  • A selection of craft ties
  • A selection of color masking tape
  • Aluminum foil
  • Construction paper
  • Poster board strips (regular and metallic)
  • Metallic paper
  • Clothespins
  • A variety of craft sticks
  • A selection of twisteez wire
  • A selection of large plastic buttons
  • A few spools of metallic tie cord
  • Plastic drinking straws
  • A few spools of britelace
  • Some marabou boas
  • A selection of dot stickers and star stickers
  • The Bling Bin
  • Scissors, tape, hole punch, and glue stick for construction
  • Markers for decorating
  • A box cutter
  • Hot glue

One building supply I didn’t list above are these…the round plastic guides at the ends of large rolls of paper. Pop them out and you have some excellent tires:

tube tiresTo prep for story time, I piled everything onto side tables, plugged in the hot glue gun, and invited everyone to make a machine. No additional prompting was needed!

Here are a few fabulous creations, beginning with…”The Dollycopter”

dollycopterWhen you pull the craft sticks on top of this computer, they jiggle the strings of buttons inside the monitor.

cone computerAn “alien” computer with with furry frame and space scene!

furry computerThere were plenty of robots, widgets, rockets, and flying mechanisms…

table robot robot 1robot 2 Remember the enthusiastic young fellow who started this post off? He designed a “Police Train” and believe it or not, the thing actually rolled when you pulled it!

train walksGuess we’ll be seeing him at MIT in a few years…

Fly You High

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flying booksWe brought this flying book craft to a community event. It’s simple to prep, easy to make, and the smile you get when a finished book “flies” off the table is priceless!

You’ll need:

Start by cutting the construction paper into quarters, resulting in four, 4″ x 6″ rectangles. 1 rectangle = 1 book cover. Next, cut the standard white paper into quarters, resulting in four, 4.5″ x 5.5″ rectangles. The white paper rectangles will be the pages of your book. Fold two white paper rectangles into the construction paper cover and staple it to create a book.

Punch a hole in the top of the book, about 1″ away from the spine. Then run a piece of patterned tape (or color masking tape) down each side of the book to create a “spine.” Or, you can skip this step and simply use markers to decorate the spine and cover of the book.

book spine step 2One boy wanted to make a “monster” book, so I created a spiky spine on his book using color masking tape. To make a spiky spine, stick one piece of tape right on edge of the spine. Repeat on the other side. Press the tape together.

monster spine step 1Then cut out the monster spines!

monster spine step 2Use the markers to customize your wings, then attach a wing to each side of the book with glue dots. Finish by running a piece of elastic beading cord through the punched hole, loop the ends together, and knot. Dangle, flip, jiggle, and swoop your book at the end of the cord for full-on flying action!

book spine step 2